South African-born Mr Musk, 42, whose Spacex company became the first private company to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, confirmed that he bought the car after being identified by Jalopnik, a car website.

"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater," he said.

Although six Esprit bodyshells were used in filming, only one was converted to a fully operational submarine car. The work was carried out by Perry Oceanographic, a company based in Riviera Beach, Florida, and was reported to have cost more than $100,000 (the equivalent of about $500,000 today).

In one of the most well-known scenes from the film, Bond drives the white Esprit off a jetty and underwater.